Callery fire company saves time, money with residency program
With rural fire companies consistently hurting for staff, Callery Volunteer Fire Company found a solution right next door.
Chief Curt Huffman has lived around Adams Township his entire life and has seen his department’s call volume rise from around 100 to 600 per year. But staffing numbers have remained consistent, forcing each firefighter to work longer volunteer hours.
So, the company began a live-in residency program.
The fire company bought the house next door to the fire company on Main Street in 2018, and two firefighters moved in. Each call they respond to lowers their rent in the house next door.
“If they run enough calls, they don’t have any bills and it would be free, and it gets them out of their parents’ house,” Huffman said.
Huffman said with the financial incentive, the firefighters living in the house respond to 40 to 70% of the department’s calls and live close to rent-free. The housing spots are great for firefighters out of high school to have their own space with few bills, he said.
“I wish I had it when I was 19 coming out of high school,” Huffman said.
Assistant chief Randy Hoffman Jr. utilized the residency program his first year with the company. He said additional firefighters would sleep on couches in the houses to take fire calls during the weekend.
“It’s been interesting over the last two years how the program has evolved,” Hoffman said.
The arrangement worked so well the company purchased a second house on Middle Lane in 2020. It currently has one vacant room. The company is considering purchasing a third house in the borough.
Huffman said the company purchased the houses at about $60,000 each, and yearly upkeep costs about $4,000. He said the arrangement has kept the company from having to hire paid staff.
Hoffman said some fire companies offer a residency program with housing in the fire hall, but the houses give firefighters their own space. The Callery Volunteer Fire Company didn’t have enough lot space to build beds in the fire hall, he said.
The fire company issues yearly municipal reports showing that, since purchasing the houses, response times have decreased about three minutes.
The Callery Fire Hall also underwent an $800,000 renovation near the end of 2021.
The renovation replaced the bay floors and added a firefighter lounge, three offices, public restrooms and a gear room to the main level. The contractor told Huffman the bulk of the work for a basement renovation had also been done, so they also added a basement gym and storage.
Huffman said the company has paid off about half its mortgage for the upgrades.
The fire hall has seen an uptick in rentals since the renovation including nine in December. The company also hosts civic groups like Scouting America and Girl Scouts of the USA for free.
